NEWPORT BEACH, Ca. – The Pacific Club IMPACT Foundation has announced eight semi-finalists for the Eighth Annual Lott IMPACT Trophy.
Named after Hall of Famer Ronnie Lott, the Lott Trophy is awarded to college football’s Defensive IMPACT Player of the Year. Now in its eighth year, the Lott Trophy is the first college football award to equally recognize athletic performance and the personal character attributes of the player.
Sponsored by The Pacific Club IMPACT Foundation in Newport Beach, the award is given to the player who exhibits the same characteristics Lott embodied during his distinguished career: Integrity, Maturity, Performance, Academics, Community and Tenacity.
The eighth annual awards banquet will be held Sunday evening, Dec. 11, at the Pacific Club in Newport Beach, Ca. Hall of Fame broadcaster Brent Musburger will be the keynote speaker.
This year’s semi-finalist list includes five linebackers, two defensive backs and one defensive lineman. There are two players from the Big-12, two from the Big Ten, two from the ACC, one from the SEC and one from Notre Dame.
The players are:
Emmanuel Acho, LB, Texas
Brodrick Brown, DB, Oklahoma State
Lavonte David, LB, Nebraska
Dont’a Hightower, LB, Alabama
Luke Kuechly, LB, Boston College
Chase Minnifield, DB, Virginia
John Simon, DL, Ohio State
Manti Te’o, LB, Notre Dame
A National Voter Panel will select the winner and three other finalists, all of whom will be invited to the 8th annual Lott IMPACT Trophy awards banquet Dec. 11 at The Pacific Club in Newport Beach.
The winner’s school will receive $25,000 for its general scholarship fund while the three other finalists will receive $5,000 for their schools.
Previous Lott IMPACT Trophy winners:
2004: David Pollack, DL, Georgia
2005: DeMeco Ryans, LB, Alabama
2006: Dante Hughes, DB, Cal
2007: Glenn Dorsey, DL, LSU
2008: James Laurinaities, LB, Ohio State
2009: Jerry Hughes, DL, TCU
2010: J.J. Watt, DL, Wisconsin
The 2011 Lott IMPACT Trophy Semi-Finalists
Emmanuel Acho , Texas (6-2), LB, 6-2, 240 (Dallas): Lott Player of the Week, Week 10…All Big-12 (mid-season, Phil Steele)…Leads Longhorns with 71 tackles, 10 tackles for loss, 10 quarterback hurries and two sacks…Six-time honor student at Texas, two-time Academic All Big-12…On both American Football Coaches Assn Good Works team and Lowe’s Senior Class Team…Finalist for Campbell Trophy…Brother Sam was a Lott finalist in 2010…Goes on medical missions to Nigeria with his family each summer
Brodrick Brown , Oklahoma State (9-0), CB, 5-8, 188 (Houston): Lott POW Week 4….Four interceptions this season…two fumble recoveries…10 tackles in win against Kansas State…35 tackles on season and 9 passes broken up (leads team)…second on team with 77 tackles last year…Had one of the most acrobatic interceptions in recent history last year….Academic All Big-12
Lavonte David , Nebraska (7-2) , LB, 6-1, 210 (Miami, Fl): Phil Steele All-American (second team)…CBS mid-season All-American (second team)…Leads team with 93 tackles, seven tackles for loss and an interception…Lott IMPACT POW Week 6 and Week 9…Set Nebraska record with 152 tackles last year…Rated No. 2 Linebacker in country…All-American as a junior
Dont’a Hightower , Alabama (8-1), LB, 6-4, 260 (Lewisburg, Tn): Phil Steele Mid-season All-American and CBS mid-season All-American…Leads Tide with 54 tackles, 6 tackles for losses…Lott POW, Week 8…Second team All SEC…Rated No. 4 linebacker by Rivals.com
Luke Kuechly , Boston College (2-7), LB, 6-3, 235 (Cincinnati): Named on four mid-season All-American teams (ESPN, CBS, Sporting News, Phil Steele)… Leads country in tackles (150) for second straight year…Lott POW Week 3…Has 10 or more tackles in 31 consecutive games…Leads team with 8.5 tackles for loss…Has one interception…Led the nation in tackles with 183 last season…Consensus All-American…Finalist for both the Butkus and Nagurski awards last year…Rated No. 1 linebacker
Chase Minnifield , Virginia (6-3), CB, 6-0, 185 (Lexington, Ky): Phil Steele Mid-season All-American (third team)…Has 37 tackles, 5 tackles for loss, two interceptions and a blocked field goal…Rated No. 6 defensive back….Lowe’s Senior Class Team…Had six interceptions (tied for fifth in the country) and 48 tackles…Honorable mention All-American…Academic all-state in high school…Son of former NFL star Frank Minnifield.
John Simon , Ohio State (6-3), DT, 6-2, 270 (Youngstown): Lott Player of the Week 7 when he had four tackles for loss and two sacks against Illinois…Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week…11 tackles for loss, two fumble recoveries…High school national honor society…Rated No. 3 DL in nation.
Manti Te’o , Notre Dame (6-3), LB, 6-2, 245 (Laie, Hi): Phil Steele Mid-season All-American…CBS mid-season All-American (second team)…His 87 tackles are among the most in NCAA… Led Irish with 144 tackles and 16 tackles for losses last season...Was named Sporting News High School Athlete of the Year (first Hawaiian and first Polynesian to receive that honor)…Prep honor student…Second team All-American last season…Rated No. 5 linebacker
Lott IMPACT Players of the Week, 2011
Week 1 – Jordan Kovacs, Michigan
Week 2 – Shayne Skov, Stanford
Week 3 – Luke Kuechly, Boston College
Week 4 – Brodrick Brown, Oklahoma State
Week 5 – T.J. McDonald, USC
Week 6 – Lavonte David, Nebraska
Week 7 – John Simon, Ohio State
Week 8 – Dont’a Hightower, Alabama
Week 9 – Lavonte David. Nebraska
Week 10 – Emmanuel Acho, Texas
Named after Pro Football Hall of Fame member, Ronnie Lott, The Lott IMPACT Trophy is awarded to college football’s Defensive IMPACT Player of the Year. Founded in 2004 by The Pacific Club IMPACT Foundation, The Lott Trophy is the first and only college football award to equally recognize athletic performance and the personal character attributes of the player. The Lott Trophy is given to the player who exhibits the same characteristics Lott embodied during his distinguished career: Integrity, Maturity, Performance, Academics, Community and Tenacity. Voters for the award include selected members of the national media, previous finalists, the Board of Directors of the Pacific Club IMPACT Foundation and a distinguished group of former college football head coaches. To date, the Foundation has donated more than $850,000 to various charities throughout the country. The eighth annual Lott Trophy dinner will be held Dec. 11th at The Pacific Club in Newport Beach, California. For more information on The Lott Trophy visit: www.LottTrophy.com . Follow college football by going to the Lott Blog at www.LottTrophy.com